France Trip Part 2

so to continue on with france.  Driving through the countryside was a spectacular experience.  Finally I am able to see hills!!!!! Denmark tends to be completely flat so the countryside is not nearly as interesting as in France where you can see little tiny villages speckled into the distance between valleys.  

When we arrived in Paris I had to suppress my laughter everyone was like OH MY GOD almost every 10 seconds.  It was pretty hilarious.  Though I can see where they are coming from, the french do know how to create a very grand city.  The first day we went to the castle of Versailles.  I would highly recommend this as a spot to visit for others.  It was amazing.  The work that went into that palace and the grounds is hard to imagine. everything is gilded and the walls are lined with satin.  The ceilings are truly spectacular with paintings, murals and ornate gilded edges.  Each room has a different theme that is reflected in the ceiling painting.  An interesting fact is that the main original artwork in the palace are the ceilings because after the revolution the rest of the furniture, tapestries, and artwork were sold off by the new republican government.  This castle was also built with a thought towards dramatic affect.  For example the king's room was built so that when the sun rose it would shine into his bedroom first, given that the king who built Versailles was Louis XIV, the sun king, this does make perfect sense that the day would begin with him waking up.  The further dramatic influence of the palace is that the sun set over the reflecting pool and into the hall of mirrors which made the golden shine of the sun illuminate the entire hall and reflect off of everything.  Now the king used this glorious affect to its utmost by only accepting calls from foreign dignitaries in the hall of mirrors at sunset.  This display of wealth and light and power was used to intimidate the ambassador so he would report to his monarch the glory of the French king.  Very clever use of architecture and design.  But then again Paris is filled with design elements used to incite national pride and glory.  For example the Place de Concord where the executions of the monarchs and other royalists took place during the revolution is located directly across the seine river from the national assembly so you can see the perspective of where the monarchy ended leading to the birth of the republic.  The bridge connecting these two monuments is made from the bricks of the Bastille prison which was stormed by revolutionaries early on in the revolution.  This bridge symbolizes the overthrow of tyranny and oppression.  You can hopefully now get my drift f how symbolic and grandiose the French tend to be.  

The gardens at Versailles were truly spectacular and I would like to see them in bloom during the summer.  They are huge and would take hours to walk around all of them.  However despite the tourists, I found them very peaceful and calm.  I spent some time in a secluded area of the garden that was once the outdoor painting room.  It is easy to see how why the nobles enjoyed it here so much.  It is easy to forget the troubles of the city and get lost in your own world.  

Paris was just as I remembered it to be.  I combination of the old buildings with the new design of wide boulevards and white apartment buildings of the architect Hausmann. I true metropolitan city filled with museums, national monuments, shops,  pastry shops and theatres.  Just being in Paris and breathing the air is invigorating.  It has a certain quality that Copenhagen lacks perhaps the grandeur of it is more than should be expected from most European capitals.  When we arrived the Russian president was visiting so the French flag was everywhere.  All along the Champs Elysees, on all the government buildings, and a huge french flag was being flown under the arch de triumph. Our first night out was fun.  I took some friends to the champs Elysees and we walked down it to the arch de triumph and got to go under it.  Next we went to the Eiffel tour and traveled to the very top to see the city all lit up.  It was a fantastic view. I regret not going the other time I was there. seeing paris lit up takes your breath away.  It is also advantageous that Paris likes to use lighting designs to show off their monuments to the best advantage.  Again a look into the Parisian design of national identity. I don't understand why most Parisians hate the Eiffel tower.  Although it doesn't truly fit in with the rest of the city it does have a certain majestic quality about it that lends it a Parisian character. Going under it and seeing it all lit up, it takes your breath away as you marvel at its dimensions and unique beauty.

We accomplished seeing basically  every single tourist site there was.  We did a walking tour of the revolutionary sites, a walking tour of the marais area which used to be the Jewish quarter, a walking tour of Montmartre. We went to Notre Dame, the arch de triumph, the eiffel tour, the palace of Justice, the finance ministry, Musee d'orsay, L'orangerie (which was a building designed to house Monet's water-lily paintings), Musee de Rodin, Les Hotel des Invalides (which houses Napoleons tomb), The opera house, Sacre-Coeur, the world trade fair buildings, the petite palais and the grand palais, the Luxemburg gardens, the Tuileries gardens, moulin rouge and the Louvre.  It was an intense trip but very exciting.

The Louvre was great this second time I went.  I felt that it was more relaxing because I have seen the famous artwork and now I could just walk around and see the rest of the museum.  Besides housing some great works the building itself is glorious to wonder around in since it used to be the old royal residence. We ended up spending 3 hours there and getting completely lost that I think we saw all of the museum, though a couple of the exhibits we had to run through because the museum was closing and we couldn't find our way out!!!!  That was an exciting adventure, we did wonder what it would have been like to spend the night in the Louvre!!!

Sacre-Coeur is a wonderful church.  though again Parisians do not like it as well and have often referred to it as a wedding cake, it does have some beautifularchitecture and structure. Plus the view from the top is incredible.  I think I enjoyed it better than the top of the eiffel tower.  It does allow for you a personal look at paris nd a closer aspect to the buildings.  As long as youdon't mind step, twisting staircases and a slight lack fo railing then you should be fine!!!

An interesting note on French history is the portrayal of the Jews during World War II.  the French tend to blame the Nazis for the deportation of the jews, yet the Vichy government fully complied with the germans and even before Nazi control of the government had passed anti-semitic legislation. However, the french choose to ignore this dimension of the history and onlyreflect on the resistance, which to be truthful wasnt highly supported.  The french colaborated fully with the Germans to save Paris and it didn't matter that there jewish population was being killed. Even now the french national memory refuses to acknowledge this aspect oftheir history.  The monument to the deportation of the jews is hidden away in a corner behind notre dame I would have had no idea it was there unless shown to me and it is underground so it is even less visible from the streets of Paris.  Due to this sentiment it was surprising to me the extent of the holocaustmuseum and monument.  although these too are hidden away in an obscure location they do in fact recognize that the french were involved in this terrible genocide.

I was extremely sad to leave Paris and I am already missing it.  The city has a quality about it that lets you know there is always something new to see and do.  I, unlike my friends found it welcoming and entertaining.  I think part of it was that I had been there before so I was used to any rudeness we incurred and I knew the subway system which many people found really confusing.  I was actually appointed by my teacher subway leader to make sure that we made our connections to change subway lines successfully when we were travelling as a group. It was also nice to be in a city where I recognized the langauge. though I still need to improve my speaking skills I understood most of what people were telling me and I could read very well.  At times I was slightly upset I had not chosen France as my study abroad location.  although I do love Denmark and my host family, I fell connected to France in a special and different way.  I am already making plans to return in two years with some friends!!! And this time we are going to meet someParisians boys!!!! Hehehe.  

This weekend I am off to Hamburg!!!!  Tell you about that trip next week!!!